Kyle Serapio, a former UST College of Education student, died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma or cancer in the lymphatic system on Feb. 28. He was 22.
His death was announced by the college’s student council on March 1.
Serapio took a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in the University, majoring in social studies.
He was a member of the pioneer batch of UST Senior High School and graduated under the Music, Arts and Design strand in 2019. He had to stop for a year due to cervical fibrosis.
Serapio was diagnosed with cancer in 2021.
In January 2022, Serapio was diagnosed with Covid-19, acute kidney failure, and sepsis, delaying his chemotherapy. He was also found to have bacteria in his blood and developed pneumonia.
“They also inserted a tube on my neck (central line) since wala na silang matusukan na ugat. Ten days alone in the ICU, two days unconscious, eight days awake, even the doctors didn’t know how it happened,” Serapio said in a Facebook post on Feb. 14.
Cassandra, his sister, said Kyle was her number one motivator in her life.
“Sobrang bait na kapatid, kaibigan, kaklase, at anak. Siya yung taong wala kang pag aalinlangan na hingan ng tulong, emosyonal, pisikal o pinansyal. Mahusay na mag-aaral, mahusay na atleta, at sa pagsayaw. Sa lahat ng bagay mahusay pero napaka-down-to-earth na tao. My number 1 motivator in life,” she told the Varsitarian.
Alyson Denise Flores described Kyle as “the life of the party,” easy to get along with and was “always willing to go the extra mile for his friends.”
“Few days before Christmas way back 2018, I suddenly wanted to go to the beach. The next day, we spontaneously took the bus heading straight to the beach […] It was my darkest moment, and Kyle was trying to cheer me up. The fact that he was willing to give his friend time said a lot about how he cared for his loved ones and how he was as a person,” she told the Varsitarian.
Serapio’s remains were cremated. His sister said there would be a wake for his remains from March 6 to 8.
